How Do You Remove Vinyl Flooring

All the good things come to an end, and vinyl flooring is not an exception. Whether you are tired of your existing vinyl design, want to install a new one or opt for a totally different flooring material, learning about removing vinyl floor is almost as important as learning how to install vinyl flooring tiles. Thankfully, it is a very simple procedure that can be done by anybody, and all you will need is a utility knife and lots of patience.

Removing Vinyl Floor With a Knife

The first thing you’ll need to do if you are removing vinyl tiles or sheets with a knife is to cut them into strips using the knife. In order for the strips to be easy to handle it is best to make them about 10 to 12cm wide. Insert the knife into the incision and slowly cut the adhesive below so the vinyl sheet separates from the floor. Peel the strip as you do so, and repeat until all the vinyl is out of the way. This is a messy and quite slow process, so a little trade secret that may help is removing vinyl flooring using dry ice.

How do I Remove Vinyl Flooring Using Dry Ice?

First of all, remember to always wear gloves if you are handling dry ice, as otherwise your hands will easily get frostbitten. Dry ice is a very cold substance, the solid form of carbon dioxide, so you will also need to be on a well-ventilated area and be careful not to inhale too much fumes, though it is generally not very toxic.

To remove vinyl flooring using dry ice, just cut the ice into cubes about 30cm big and place them on top of the vinyl. The dry ice will evaporate and cool off the vinyl, making it brittle and easy to break after a few minutes. The broken pieces of vinyl can be swept away easily. If you are working on a large surface, such as vinyl commercial flooring, this method is much more cost effective in terms of time.

Preparing The Floor After Removing Vinyl Floor

It doesn’t matter which method you used to remove vinyl flooring, there will be traces of vinyl and adhesive for vinyl tile on the floor which needs to be removed. This is a process that requires first the use of a scrapper and can be quite a bit of hard work but it is necessary if you plan on installing any other type of flooring as the surfaces need to be flat and clean. To make scrapping easier, you may want to use boiling water to soften the adhesive up but use towels to contain it and don’t try this if you are trying to remove vinyl adhesive from porous substances such as wood.

Some stubborn spots may be resistant to manual scrapping, in which case you will need to use a chemical stripper to soften the adhesive up. However, make sure to follow the instructions from the manufacturer, wear protective equipment to avoid breathing in the fumes and keep the area well ventilated.